Visio a software product from Microsoft allows users to create flowcharts and diagrams. There are a couple of licencing options available. The two listed below are subscription based.
If starting out with Visio our recommendation is the Visio 1 plan. This gives basic functionality and is accessed via the internet. If you are a more experienced user and require additional functionality then Visio Plan 2 may be more suitable. It allows the software to be downloaded to your desktop, has more templates, AutoCAD compatibility and more. A list of features is outlined below for both plans.
| Features | Visio Plan 1 | Visio Plan 2 |
| Create block diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, and Specification and Description Language (SDL) diagrams | X | X |
| Standard templates | X | X |
| Share work via a web-based link, attachement, image or PDF | X | X |
| Store and share work with 2GB of OneDrive storage | X | X |
| Access Visio via internet connection | X | X |
| Ability to install Visio on a desktop computer | X | |
| Templates and shapes that meet industry standards such as BPMN 2.0, UML 2.5 and IEEE | X | |
| Draw or annotate using pen, finger or ink | X | |
| Additional data overlay, icons, colours and graphics | X | |
| Enhanced support for AutoCAD drawings | X | |
| Installation on mulitiple computer/devices per user | X | |
| Connect diagrams to external data sources | X | |
| Export to Microsoft Flow, Word, Excel data visualizer and Powerpoint slide snippets | X |
Price range for the Visio plans are roughly $8-25* per month dependent on plan, and other subscriptions.
Visio is still available to purchase as a once off purchase – Visio Professional 2019. Though it is a rather an expensive outlay if you are wanting to try out the tool for your business (almost AUD$1,000).
A subscription has benefits in that the software is always up to date, and in the Visio 2 plan downloadable to multiple devices per user. Whereas the purchase once option can only be installed on one device at any given time.
*Pricing is ball park figure, given only as a guide.